The first "crop" is in!

I planted lettuce, spinach, swiss chard and collards today. With a little luck, they'll provide us with fresh salads and greens through most of the winter. The chard and collards are an experiment for me...I've never planted them before. They might make for good late season veggies, they might not.

Eventually, I'm going to fence the entire garden to keep the critters out. In the meantime, to protect the plants from both frost and deer, I built a hoop house over the bed. I used PVC pipe because it's easy to work with and is perfectly suited for this project.

I cut 1/2" PVC into 6" lengths to use as supports for the hoops.

The supports were attached to the wooden side of the garden bed using pipe straps...

 

...and these screws that I had on hand.

 

 

 

 I used 10' lengths of Schedule 40 PVC for the hoops.

 

 

The ends of the PVC hoop fit into the supports.

 



 

I put five hoops along the length of this 10 foot bed, then added a ridge pole for stability.

 

 

Those are zip ties holding the ridge pole to the hoops.

 

 

One of my neighbors is using this black plastic deer barrier so I'm trying it too. It seems a little thin and flimsy, though.

 

 

The deer netting is seven feet wide, so it took two lengths to completely cover the hoops. I used a couple of zip ties to attach it to the ridge pole.

 

 

I don't know how effective this stuff will be against hungry deer.



I used binder clips to clip the netting to the bottom hoops. Then I laid a couple of boards along the ground on the outside of the bed to anchor the edges down. All I need to do to get into the bed is flip the boards back, unclip the net, then fold it over the top.

 

 

Here is what I planted today:

 













 

 

My tongue depressor plant markers.

 

 

If I am left alone for too long in a doctor's exam room, I will get curious about what's in all those drawers and cabinets!

 

I only planted a little bit of each, in case things go horribly wrong and the deer get my seedlings.  I can do another crop in about two weeks if these sprout and the deer don't notice.

 

 

Those hoops are a little floppy. I have my doubts about their ability to withstand Colorado wind and snow. Once the weather gets cold, I'll put clear plastic over top of the deer net to make a mini greenhouse/cold frame under the hoops. I'm concerned the hoops won't be strong enough to hold all of that. 

 

Maybe if I add a support on each end? Or cut the hoops down a foot or two so they aren't so tall? I like them tall, since it's easy to get under them to plant, water and harvest. And tall ones like that will protect even big tomato plants.  I guess I'll have to experiment to find out what works best.

 

 

So there you have it....Hoop House Version 1.0. I'll let you know how it goes and when the seeds sprout!